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7 July 2008
Screen Australia awarded actor Luke Carroll the 2008 Bob Maza Fellowship at the opening of the Message Sticks Indigenous Film Festival in Sydney on Friday 4 July.
The Bob Maza Fellowship, valued at $10,000, is awarded each year to further an Indigenous actor's professional development and career opportunities in the international arena.
Luke Carroll’s film credits include To Hell and Bourke, Subdivision, The Tender Hook and Children of the Revolution. Luke has recently appeared in Home and Away, worked with Catherine Freeman in Going Bush and starred in The Alice. Luke has had lead roles in theatre productions including Capricornia, Conversations with the Dead and A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Belvoir St Theatre, Riverland for The Adelaide Festival, Eora Crossing for the Sydney Festival, My Girragundji forBell Shakespeare and The Cherry Pickers for Sydney Theatre Company. Luke has also appeared in Stingers, All Saints, Water Rats, Heartbreak High, The Man from Snowy River and The Flying Doctors. Luke was nominated for an AFI Award for Best Supporting Actor for Australian Rules and for Best Supporting Actor in a TV Series for R.A.N.
"As a young Indigenous actor I had the honour to work with Uncle Bob Maza and learnt first-hand the true responsibilities and dedication you need to be a success in this industry," Luke said. “The Bob Maza Fellowship will allow me undertake study to gain skills that will help me break out of the Australian market. It will also allow me to attend meetings in Los Angeles and New York to promote my work internationally. I am thrilled to accept this fellowship in Uncle Bob’s memory.”
Sally Riley, Manager of Screen Australia’s Indigenous Branch said, "Each year we pay tribute to Bob's passion and commitment by awarding this fellowship to an Indigenous actor to help them raise their international profile. We wish Luke the best of luck and know he will be a very worthy recipient of this 2008 Bob Maza Fellowship."
The Fellowship is sponsored by Screen Australia to commemorate and celebrate the life and work of Bob Maza (1939–2000), who was the first Indigenous Australian Film Commissioner, an actor and activist, a lifelong theatre and film advocate, and a mentor.
Previous recipients of the fellowship include actor and writer Aaron Pedersen, actor, director and writer Leah Purcell, actor and musician Tom E Lewis and actor Ursula Yovich.
Media enquiries: Victoria Buchan, The Lantern Group, victoria@lanterngroup.com.au
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